


Finding Ratchet

by birdwhythis



Series: Ratchma gay shit [2]
Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, M/M, based on a hc i had that pharma helped out with ratchet at dead end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-15 21:45:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16941306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/birdwhythis/pseuds/birdwhythis
Summary: Yeah, I had this headcannon that Pharma had helped Ratchet a bit with running dead end clinic and this fic is centered around that





	Finding Ratchet

**Author's Note:**

> I suck at titles. I just called it Ratchma Angst. This for my best friend, starscream7799/pharma7799

            It wasn’t long before Pharma noticed something was off with Ratchet. He had been excited before he even arrived in Rodion to see his friend. He hadn’t seen Ratchet in over a year since he took a job offer in Rodion. He couldn’t wait, go out and explore the town, he had been sure Ratchet would have found the best and safe places in this garbage town.

            But however, Ratchet…

            He seemed off. He seemed exhausted. Dark circles haunted the normally bright optics but now they were almost dimmed and blank. Pharma didn’t have to be close with him to know his friend hadn’t been sleeping. Or refuelling. When the CMO wasn’t with patients or ordering the other doctors around, he seemed slow and stiff and almost non-responsive. He only shrugged at every time Pharma tried to tease him.

            There were a few times during the day, the medic seemed too jittery and active out of the blue.

            And of course, every time Pharma had asked if Ratchet was able to show him around town it was met with “I’m too busy, Pharma.” Or “Just not today, had a long day.”

            This worried Pharma a lot. He knew this town was a practical energon mine for drugs like syk and circuit boosters and who knows what else. And he knew that Ratchet tended to experiment a lot or at least he did during his schooling. He was worried that his friend had gotten involved with that stuff.

            Which brings him to right now. He finished his shift. Ratchet had already left a couple of hours ago. It wasn’t ideal for sneaking around, for trying to find out what was wrong with his friend since he wasn’t sure where Ratchet went at all, but he had to make do, he supposed. He already tried to interview the staff with no avail, they seemed to know very little about what their CMO did in his free time.

            He felt the faculty, avoiding staff before he got suckered into working longer. And then flew over to Ratchet’s hab. The mech lived not far from here, somewhere in the middle of the city. Ratchet had told him where he was staying before he arrived, but this was the first time he visited it. He rang the bell at the front of the building, waiting a good long minute before receiving nothing. He did this about 3 times.

            Ratchet lived on the fourth floor. Pharma was supposed that he was lucky in this instant for his flight mode. Using his thrusters, he flew up to the balcony to where Ratchet’s room should be and peered through the glass sliding door.

            There was hardly anything in the room other than the bare basics. A few tables. A desk. A couch. A few chairs. It hardly felt like an actual room that a bot would live in. The lights were off too. It felt deserted almost.

            Ratchet wasn’t there.

            He was surprised but only a second. He should have expected this.

            Pharma flew down before he could get arrested by the police force for suspicious activity.

            With no other choice, he decided to message Ratchet, hoping the mech would just tell him where he was already. After a few moments, he was met yet again with nothing. He grumbled under his breath and cursed Ratchet for making this more difficult than it should be. _Ratchet, where are you?_

            He decided with no other lead, to look around for the medic. He’d try looking around the clubs and bars in this town, maybe he’ll find the Party Ambulance version of his friend.

            This wasn’t how he imagined looking around this town, seeing the sights. He was heading closer to dead-end at this point. It looked sad and depressing than anything. Ruined buildings with graffiti. Even worse looking bots sitting along the buildings and even the roads. He saw signs of drug use every where.

            He hugged his arms around himself, this town, the dead-end part of it, just seemed sick and drained.

            Then finally Pharma found a bar and looked around for Ratchet. And nothing.

            He exited the building from one of the back entrances and as he was walking of the alley, rather quickly, he might add, he spotted two mechs talking to each other.

            “Oh my slag, your arm is fixed? How did ya afford that?” one of them commented as he lifted the another’s arm and examined it.

            “Not a shanix, let me tell ya that. I got convinced to go to Dead-End Clinic and the medic there, patched me up, free of charge.”

            Now that was interesting. Pharma’s brows furrowed. He couldn’t recall there being a ‘Dead-End Clinic’ listed for doctors and given how he was a doctor with a degree and everything, he felt he would know if there was another clinic. It should have been listed? Why is this the first time he’s hearing this.

            _Oh._

            Missing exhausted Ratchet. Mystery Clinic. Ratchet wouldn’t.

            Of course, Pharma knew Ratchet would most definitely do that.

            Pharma walked up to the mechs and nonchalantly asked. “Hey, by chance, can you tell where Dead end Clinic is…”

            The bots stared straight at his wings and Pharma folded them back immediately.

            “Nah, we ain’t narcs,” one of them shook his head.

            “I’m not a cop.”

            “Yeah, you are a doctor,” the bots looked at each other and then walked off.

            Pharma scowled in annoyance, he only wanted to find his friend, that’s all. How hard was that? He decided to go confront another group of bots and demand to know where Dead-End was. He approached the next bot, making sure his wings were folded back against his arms, so they wouldn’t see the medical symbols. “I was wondering where I might find Dead-end clinic…I have a friend that has a nasty rust-.”

            The bot looked mildly annoyed. “Are you new here?”

            “Yeah, I am. I only heard about it, but we-.”

            “It’s at the end of the road, turn left, the 4th building.” The bot said quietly as he looked around.

            “Thank you,” Pharma said, trying to sound modest. He transformed and flew the rest of the way. He landed neatly in front of the clinic, he could see the windows were still covered and the door was shut. He wondered if he should just walk in the front…yeah that was he was going to do that door.

            The door was unlocked, and he stepped inside. He could see almost a blank entrance and makeshift entrance desk and chairs lined around the walls. Out of curiosity, he rang the bell on the desk, but he heard nothing. He hated how this was becoming at a trend. He squinted when he noticed a string from the bell lining along the desk, along the wall through a small hole at the top. Well, he never saw that in the doctor office before.

            He walked back to the door at the end of the room and tried it only to see that there was a padlock. He felt conflicted, a part of him wanted it to be to be Ratchet, but also not. There was only one way to find out, he typed in Ratchet’s normal password for pretty much anything. And the door popped open.

            “You actual fragger.” Pharma said with a groan. He looked around and he guessed he couldn’t be shocked that the med-bay in here looked decent and adequate, like not the best in the world, but it was well kept.

            His optics locked onto the desk in the corner, right against the wall of waiting room and more specifically the red and white figured hunched over it.

            Ratchet was sprawled practically on the desk, his upper body resting flat on the desk, head using a datapad as a pillow. His legs stretched out. The medic was even snorting and drooling at the corner of his mouth. He was also shocked by how many energon boosters’ containers (cybertronian energy drinks) littered it too. Ratchet must have been using those as a desperate attempt to stay awake. His face was scrunched up as if it wasn’t a restful recharge.

            Was that…he saw where the string from the waiting room was coming from, it seemed to be rigged up to a device with a needle and a thing you can attach to yourself with. If he knew Ratchet and he did, that was must what Ratchet was using in case he fell asleep and someone can in. One ring of a bell on the desk and activate the device and prick, and Ratchet would awake. Genius if it wasn’t so insane.  

            “You idiot!” Pharma stated quite loudly, crossing his arms and tilting his helm.

            Ratchet’s optics opened immediately, and he shot up in his chair, his feet accidently kicking off the desk. The chair tilted back too far because of it and both it and the medic it was holding fell over on the floor with a thud. He blinked, stunned, his arms over his head and his legs draped over the chair still.

            Pharma leaned over the medic’s face, he could easily tell that Ratchet’s optics weren’t focusing properly. Ratchet looked more mildly surprised as if he wasn’t sure where he was.

            “Pharma…? What are you doing here?” Ratchet squinted up at the jet.

            “Looking for you. I should say the same thing to you. What are you doing here” _What are you doing to yourself, Ratchet?_

            “It’s my clinic, whatdaya mean?” Ratchet’s voice was heavy with exhaustion that he was practically mumbling and slurring his words. “Now answer mah quest-shin.”

            “Primus, Ratchet, I went to find you because it doesn’t take a genius to tell you are running yourself into the ground.” Pharma

            “I’m not running.”

            “It’s just an expression, Ratch,” Pharma pinched his nose as he crouched down in front of the ambulance. “How long have you’ve been up?”

            Ratchet rubbed at his face and paused to think. “Uuhhhh, not that long…I recharged like uh 3 hours a couple days ago…it might have been 3 days. But then it was like 1 or 2 here and there for like almost a week? It’s been busy…”

            “Primus, Ratchet…I’m surprised your systems haven’t shut down from exhaustion. I’m surprised your brain module hasn’t fried out from lack of sleep and energon boosters.”

            “I must have gotten some recharge now,” Ratchet lifted his arm and checked the time. “Damn…an hour…it’ssss better than nothing.” He tried to sit up and Pharma wasn’t sure if the mech was too tired to sit or too stiff from overworking to move, but anything it was a fail. He rested back down on the floor and peered at Pharma. “This is awkward…but can you help me up? I’m a little sore…”

            “Yeah, I would be too if I was working constantly with little sleep.” Pharma had so many questions on why Ratchet was doing this? Why was he forgetting his own self care? What were the reasons. But he knew it was no use getting the information out of the medic when he was exhausted out of his mind literally.

            “How am I supposed to run my clinic. _They need me_ ”

            “You’re not right now. You’re going to go one of those medical berths and you are going to recharge.”

            “Who is going to run my clinic then huh?”

            Frag, only Ratchet could still be ridiculously stubborn when he was exhausted. “I’ll keep an optic on it,” Pharma wrapped his arms around Ratchet’s shoulder and forcibly hoisted the considerably smaller medic up, practically dragging him across the floor. Ratchet was practically dead weight.

            “I’m not tired.”

            Dead weight that wouldn’t shut up. “Yes, you are. End of discussion.” Pharma adjusted his grip on Ratchet and lifted him bridal style only for a moment in order to plop Ratchet down on the berth.

            Ratchet grunted, especially since he couldn’t help but nestle against the pillows. Pharma fluffed them up and threw a heated blanket over him. Pharma pulled a chair up near the berth, leaning forward enough to cross his arms on Ratchet’s berth and rest his head on them. “Let yourself recharge.”

            He could see that Ratchet’s optics were dimming, but not fully. He hoped to primus Ratchet wasn’t trying to fight off recharge.

            Pharma decided to use a trick he had pick up from knowing Ratchet. He rubbed one of Ratchet’s finials on his helms in slow smooth strokes, knowing that was a sensitive part of his friend. Finally, he could see Ratchet’s optics dimmed fully and his breathing evened out. His face relaxed and Pharma couldn’t help, but think Ratchet looked young and innocent right now. It was sometimes hard to remember, Ratchet always had a developing neutral and stony appearance since he started working as a doctor.

            Pharma did keep his word, even though he was tired from his shift. He couldn’t let Ratchet down. Doing this, seemed important to the ambulance.

            Lucky, it seemed to be a slow night. Well, he couldn’t be sure what was considered busy or slow here, he was just grateful that he dealt with only two patients. They both seemed slightly concerned on why he was working there and not Ratchet, but they didn’t seem to care as much as Pharma never charged them. He knew Ratchet didn’t. He tided up a bit.

            Eventually, it was completely slowed and then finally it came time for the clinic to close for the might. He was glad Ratchet had enough common sense to put opening and closing times on this place. Pharma was bored out of his mind by the end of it. An idea crept into his brain and he walked over to the sleeping Ratchet. He had to admit Ratchet really did look peaceful in his sleep. He reached over and ever so gently rubbed his fingers along the chevron. Ratchet grumbled something in his sleep and shifted in his sleep.

            Pharma lifted Ratchet slightly up, making him sit up long enough so Pharma can slide underneath and rest the ambulance in his lap instead. He knew it was slightly risky, but he just wanted to try it and it was nice to feel the solid built of the medic resting carefully against him. He knew Ratchet was exhausted, but the fact the medic didn’t immediately wake up was astounding to him. Ratchet always had been a lighter sleeper. He was barely a sleeper in general.

            Ratchet kept sleeping.

            Pharma gave a light smile and continued to stroke along the chevron. He pulled out a datapad and read from it as well.

            It was another hour before he felt Ratchet starting to stir, shifting around in Pharma’s lap and he wearily onlined his optics, peering up at the jet. He looked better. His optics were bright back and shadows almost gone. He blinked a few times, trying to gather his surroundings before rubbing his optics. He remained in Pharma’s lap however and he smiled softly at Pharma “Hey.”

            “Hey,” Pharma said back, setting the datapad back in his subspace. “How was the recharge?”

            “The best one I had in months.” Ratchet admitted.

            “You’re an idiot.”

            “I know.”

            “What were you thinking, opening up a side clinic on top of your CMO job. You got to be insane.” Pharma shook his head.

            “Maybe, but these bots needed me. They needed someone. They can’t afford the main clinic…besides I felt so unfulfilled with this going to work and then not doing anything to help the suffering on the streets…Orion gave me the idea.”

            “Of course, he did. I supposed he didn’t think that you would overwork yourself to the brink of exhaustion.”

            “Well, he said maybe a clinic part time…but that’s so little time.”

            “Naturally…” Pharma pinched his nose.

            “I’m doing good, Pharma, I became a doctor to help bots.”

            “I didn’t say you weren’t. But this is going to kill you, Ratchet, if you aren’t careful. You can’t just stay up all the time and run the clinic. You need a break, you need recharge, you aren’t immortal…you need me.”

            “I need you?” Ratchet questioned.

            Pharma swallowed thickly as he hadn’t necessarily meant to say it like that, but he gave a nod as he wasn’t going to back down from it now. “Yeah, you need me, you need someone to make sure you don’t forget about yourself. I suppose the bots here could use another doctor too.”

            He wasn’t sure what he was feeling about his agreement but seeing the grin on Ratchet’s face made it worth it. He knew he couldn’t let Ratchet do this on his own and he didn’t want to.

            “Thank you.” Ratchet said, still smiling widely. He lifted himself slightly in order to sling an arm around Pharma’s waist and the nuzzle his face along the jet’s chassis, his smile turning into a smirk as he peered up at Pharma after a few nuzzles.

            Pharma pretended to be annoyed, but he couldn’t stop the smile that was forming at his lips. He placed a servo over Ratchet’s face softly. “You are ridiculous.”

            Ratchet gave a chuckle. “Yeah, yeah, I know that as well.”

            “It’s almost amazing what you actually know,” Pharma removed his servo and rolled his optics as Ratchet nuzzled him again. “How long are you going to running this place for?”

            “As long as I can, I’ll make sure if the Council finds out, to make sure you’re home free.” His lips pressed in a fine line. Pharma knew what he meant. The council frowned up medics trying to open free clinics or letting patients get “free healthcare.” It was ridiculous, it was no wonder, Ratchet felt a need to break that rule. “I don’t really want to discuss that now.”

            “I won’t bring it up then.” Pharma said, knowing they would need to talk about it later but right now he was enjoying Ratchet in his lap and it was the clear the medic in question enjoyed resting there.

            “I never thought a jet as skinny as you are would be a good pillow.”

            “Excuse me?” Pharma snorted and frowned down at the medic. “I’m normal sized for a jet. You don’t see me going around making comparisons on your boxy frame with your coworkers.”

            Ratchet made a ta

            Pharma was mostly glad just to see Ratchet feeling and acting more like himself. To see him well rested and not exhausted. “Don’t tsk me.”

            Ratchet snickered before asking, “What time is it? I don’t want to be late for my shift.”

            Pharma smirked like the bastard he is, “About that. I called you in sick today already, came down with a 24-hour system virus. What a shame. Luckily, since you looked like death yesterday, no one was surprised.”

            Ratchet lifted himself and stared at Pharma, mouth open wide like he was offended. “You piece of slag, I am capable of-.”

            “Oh shush, you can afford giving yourself a few more hours to relax, because you still need to show me around this slag heag.”

            Ratchet blinked before sighing and then slumping back down to rest against Pharma. “Alright fine, I guess I do, but in a bit. I’m not ready to move.”

            “I’m not ready either,” Pharma said with a small laugh as he brought his servo to rest against Ratchet’s helm. “Take all the time you need.”


End file.
